According to SW Radio Africa Bulawayo correspondent Lionel Saungweme, Sabhuku Claudius Nyamudangara was targeted by two thugs named only as Kambadza and Damios, who are known to be ZANU PF’s “hatchet man” in the rural districts of Mutoko North.
Sabhuku Nyamudangara had left his village to visit Jigu Village in Ward 17 when the two ambushed and assaulted him with fists and boots. “A report was made to the police and they have opened a docket. Normally they do not even follow-up but JOMIC has been involved and police want to appease them,” Saungweme said.
He added that the traditional leader is making arrangements to travel to Harare for medical treatment. “He was unconscious during most of the attack and he woke up with a badly swollen face, lacerated ribs and suspects he has a fracture in his right shoulder because he is in pain,” Saungweme explained.
Our correspondent said a photo-journalist in the same area, Shadreck Manyere, reported that his brother Saddam had his tomatoes and other property confiscated by ZANU PF activists. Saddam had also been accused of being an MDC supporter and too close to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
Mutoko North is in Mashonaland East, the same province where ZANU PF supporters killed the MDC-T ward one chairman for Mudzi North, Cephas Magura, in May this year. The attackers also injured seven other MDC-T supporters, who were admitted to the Avenues Clinic in Harare.
According to Saungweme, JOMIC has been monitoring violence in Mash East province and there has been a presence of high level officials since Magura’s death. The police are aware of this and appear to have eased up on their usual partisan behavior.
Meanwhile Newsday newspaper reported this week that they were in possession of internal party documents which show that ZANU PF’s campaign strategy for the forthcoming general elections “will hinge on infiltration of churches, neutralisation of civic society and use of traditional leaders to whip the rural electorate into line.”
Saungweme said the politicization of traditional leaders breaches a section of the Global Political Agreement (GPA), which stipulates that traditional leaders have responsibilities and obligations to all members of their communities, “regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, race, religion and political affiliation.”
Article XIV calls on all Political Parties to: “Commit themselves to ensuring the political neutrality of traditional leaders and calls upon traditional leaders not to engage in partisan political activities at national level as well as in their communities”.
But ZANU PF continues to use traditional leaders to victimise villagers in their constituencies who are suspected of being MDC-T supporters. And those who do not comply, like Sabhuku Nyamudangara, become the victims. SW Radio Africa
Post published in: News